FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9
Local
Livestock judging contest held Man crashes
into pole near
John Day
• 4-HERS GATHER
AT THOMAS
ANGUS RANCH
BY BRIAN ADDISON
Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Poco Wing 4-H Club
invited other 4-H clubs to
the Thomas Angus Ranch
and held a livestock judg-
ing contest on June 15.
Judging took place on two
classes of lambs and one
class of beef.
Bob Harrell from nearby
Harrell Hereford Ranch
and Mark Coomer judged
the beef class, and from the
Baker High School Future
Farmers of America judg-
ing team Sophomore Au-
gustena Cook and Senior
Melissa Foltz, alongside
4-H club members, judged
the two classes of lambs.
During the contest,
the official judges and
4-H members scored and
ranked the livestock and
then compared notes. “The
kids’ll have to explain why
they placed the class the
way they did,” said Poco
Wing 4-H leader Lori
Thomas.
If individual club
members scored abso-
lutely consistently with the
expert judges they received
50-points.
The exercise not only
Photo Courtesy of OSP.
Brian Addison / The Baker County Press
Members of the Poco Wing 4-H Club and invited guests judge bulls on the
Thomas Angus Ranch during a livestock judging contest, June 15.
helps the 4-H members
hone their knowledge and
decision-making skill on
judging livestock but also
provided a public speaking
opportunity as well, said
Thomas.
“I think 4-H is an excel-
lent program. I started 4-H
at about age eight and then
became a leader with my
kids, and now volunteer
to help out,” said Sue
Danielson as she prepared
paperwork and place tags
for the contest.
The Junior Division con-
test resulted in first place
going to Ty Morrison of
the Poco Wing 4-H Club,
second place to Tristin
Curry and third place to
Gretchen Morgan both rep-
resenting JQ Livestock.
Senior Division honors
were earned by first place
finisher Emma Finley of
the Poco Wing 4-H Club,
second place to Johnathan
Cunningham of Poco Wing
4-H Club, and third place
to Aiden Coomer repre-
senting the Baker FFA.
Adult Division win-
ners were Diana Dowing
in first place, Tami Foltz
in second, and in a third
place tie Greg Maddox and
Michelle Coley.
Diana Downing won the
weight guessing contest.
An 18-year-old driver crashed into this pole Tuesday
near John Day.
The Oregon State Police and emergency personnel
responded to HWY 26 Milepost 159 to the report of a
vehicle crashed into a power pole. Additional information
indicated the power lines were down and a grass fire had
started.
According to Sergeant Tom Hutchison, on June 16,
2015 at about 12:28 p.m., a 1998 Dodge pickup pulling
a flatbed trailer was traveling eastbound on Highway 26
when the vehicle left the roadway, rolled over and struck
a power pole. This caused the power lines to drop and
start the vehicle and the surrounding vegetation on fire.
The operator of the vehicle. Taylor D. Meliza, age 18,
of Salem, was uninjured. Fire crews from John Day and
the Bureau of Land Management responded and extin-
guished the fire. Initial investigation suggests Meliza fell
asleep causing his vehicle to depart the roadway. He was
cited for Careless Driving.
OSP was also assisted on scene by the Grant County
Sheriff’s Office, Blue Mountain Ambulance and the John
Day Police Department.
CASA’s daddy-daughter dance
City water
rocks the Sunridge
tests negative
for crypto
BY BRIAN ADDISON
Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com
All of ages of dads and
daughters enjoyed an eve-
ning together at the Daddy-
Daughter Night Out held at
the Sunridge Inn, Saturday,
June 13. The affair is an
annual fundraiser for the
Court Appointed Special
Advocates, Inc., (CASA)
a nonprofit organization
helping children who’ve
entered the court and foster
care system.
“CASA advocates for
the best interest of children
who are involved in the de-
pendency system, or foster
care,” said Mary Collard,
CASA Executive Director.
“When a child enters the
system, the judge appoints
the advocate. The advocate
then gets to know the kids
and then makes recommen-
dations to the courts.”
The evening’s festivities
included food, photos, a
silent auction for items do-
nated by local individuals
and businesses, and a much
anticipated dance.
“This is the second year
we’ve been here and the
dancing is my favorite
part,” said 8-year-old Zoey
Justus just before haul-
ing her dad Kody onto the
dance floor.
Collard makes special
note of the community
support and the volunteer
work provided by the
CASA board of directors
and the 25 CASA volun-
teers who advocate for
children.
“The Sunridge Inn has
been a great supporter
of this event. This is the
second year at the Sun-
ridge and they donate the
banquet room and provide
food at cost,” Collard said.
Karee Severns, Sunridge
Inn Sales and Market-
ing Manager’s assistant,
On June 1 at 7:30 a.m. staff from the Baker City Water
Department obtained water samples from a residence at
which a Baker City woman lived who tested positive for
cryptosporidiosis. The water had been treated with the
City’s UV treatment system.
The water was transported to the Grants Pass Water
Laboratory on June 2.
On June 11 the lab reported that there were neither
cyrptosporidium oocysts nor giardia cysts found in the
sample.
Brian Addison / The Baker County Press
Mary Collard, CASA Executive Director, Christina Smith, chairperson for CASA
board of directors, and Jill Finney, CASA Program Director during the CASA
Daddy-Daughter Night Out fundraiser.
helped with the set-up,
acted as errand-runner
throughout the evening,
and has a young daughter
and boyfriend who at-
tended the event.
Collard expresses appre-
ciation to a list of donors.
This year community
members donating to the
CASA’s Daddy-Daughter
Night Out fund-raiser
includes Dr. Eric and
Mrs. Katie Lamb, Barley
Brown’s Brew Pub, Blue
Mountain Denture Center,
Ray and Jay Berryman,
Jim Gordon, Lew Brothers/
Les Schwab Tire Center
and the Brown family,
Troy and Lori Stewart, Eric
and Michelle Paoletti, Lisa
Raffety, Tay Mohr, Silvan
Schmeits & Vaughan PC,
Kelly Hardy, Dr. James
and Mrs. Kathleen Davis,
Random Resales, Francis
Davis, and the Sunridge
Inn.
Public’s help
asked to solve
poaching case
The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division
is asking for the public's help in locating the person(s)
responsible for unlawful wounding a buck deer outside of
LaGrande in the Starkey Unit located in Union County.
According to Sergeant Chris Hawkins, a concerned
citizen reported the mortally wounded buck only a couple
miles off I-84, a short distance up Ladd Creek Road.
OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers responded and deter-
mined the buck was shot with a .17 caliber rifle twice in
the head, on or before June 3rd.
There are no legal deer hunting seasons occurring dur-
ing this time of year.
A reward is being offered by the Oregon Hunters As-
sociation through the Turn-in-Poachers (TIP) program for
any information leading to an arrest and conviction in this
case. Callers can remain anonymous. The TIP program
number is 1-800-452-7888.
Anyone with any information is encouraged to
contacted Senior Trooper Kris Davis at the Oregon State
Police office in LaGrande at 541-805-4757.
OTEC plans outage
Brian Addison / The Baker County Press
Zoe Justus with dad Kody says the dancing is her
favorite part of the event.
OTEC has scheduled a planned outage for Tuesday,
June 23. The outage will be for approximately 10 min-
utes, sometime between 9:00 a.m. and 11: 00 a.m. This
will affect consumers from Ben-Dier Lane up to Upper
Pine Creek Lane, including Spring Creek Loop and all
roads off of Ben Dier Lane in the Baker District. The
outage is planned to last less than ten minutes. OTEC
apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.